A Glimpse into Poverty.

At our last Junior League meeting, our (fabulous, wonderful, amazing) president left us with some statistics and a challenge. It was really eye opening, so I wanted to share it with you.
Our mission is to serve the women and children of Angelina County. Our signature project, Back to School Bonanza, does just this.
Each year we provide at least 2,000 backpacks full of the necessary school supplies to begin the school year. Parents can bring their kids for: vision screening, head check, hearing screening, immunizations, hair cut, uniforms, and other things to help them kick their school year off right. 
Based on the data collected from Back to School Bonanza and income eligibility for our programs, the average income is calculated on a one parent household with three children. Assuming they are working 40 hours a week at minimum wage, their net income after withholding would be around $1,004.00 a month. Based on the SNAP (food stamp) program guidelines, they would qualify for about $347 a month, or 80.13 a week, in food stamps. 
So the challenge was to feed our family for a week on $80.
I thought that sounded easy enough. We usually eat dinner at my parents house on Mondays and with Clayton's parents one night a week. 
So I made my grocery list and I headed to the grocery store thinking "I've got this."
We eat pretty healthy (emphasis on pretty) in our house. I make most everything from scratch and we have cut out most processed foods, so the bulk of my groceries are bought in the produce and meat sections. 
I started off pretty well because produce is mostly inexpensive. 
Then I went for meat. That added a pretty hefty dollar amount to my basket. Do you know how much ground beef is?! I knew it was expensive, but I had never really paid attention to just how much it was because we don't eat a whole lot of it.
I got out of those sections mostly unscathed and headed for the dairy. I got my staples and then hit the aisles for the few things I needed. This is where a big realization hit.
Healthy food is expensive. My box of brown rice noodles was three times the price of good ol' enriched noodles.
I started walking the aisles and paying attention to the healthier options of things and noticing how much more expensive they are.
We tend to blame the obesity epidemic in the US on laziness and lack of education. And don't get me wrong, that is a BIG part of it. But how can families living below the poverty line justify spending an extra $3 on a box of healthier noodles?
My trips to the grocery store typically consist of me getting the things on my list and throwing anything else in the buggy that I decide I need while I'm there. We DO have a budget for groceries, but going over it by $5, $10 even $20 isn't the end of the world. For people living in poverty, it could mean not getting the electricity bill paid.
I managed to come in around $75. I was pleasantly surprised that I was able to get food for a week for that and it opened my eyes to my frivolous spending at the grocery store. BUT that did not include ANY household items. That was strictly food. And I did have to sacrifice some of our healthier options to stay under budget.
It was such a great experience and really gave me a glimpse into the lives of the people we serve. We are so willing to do so much for them, but it's hard to relate to them and I feel like this helped tremendously, and for that I am thankful! 
And just for fun, here is my $75 worth of groceries...